Posh Onion and Fig Tart Tatin served with Parmesan Ice-Cream

I got a little bit carried away with this one....

I rather fell in love with the picture of Italian simplicity below and decided to give the recipe a go..

It was as advertisement from Discover the Origin, a campaign to publicise Italian ingredients, and I thought it looked like a nice, indulgent treat. However, it was a bit of a faff..... The Parmesan ice cream had to be made the day before and I had to trudge around Nottingham to buy figs (Sainsbury's & Tesco's both failed me, though I did discover a rather lovely fruit and veg shop that saved the day!).

After all the faffing, I still found the ice cream to be grainy (sometimes happens with homemade ice cream made without a machine), the figs somewhat redundant and the parma ham a slightly odd addition (clearly, I'm a heathen). My partner quite enjoyed it, which is fine because I wont be making the dish again! So why write about it here you may ask??

We'll, I was rather impressed by the onion tatin. Dark, flavoursome onions, enhanced greatly by the addition of Marsala and thyme and finished simply with ready-made puff pastry. For that reason, I've only included the recipe for the onion tatin below (minus the figs) - however, if anyone wants the entire recipe to better my attempt, drop me an e-mail.

Onion and Thyme Tart Tatin (serves 4)

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 50g butter
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp best balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp Marsala

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c

Step 2: Sweat onions in butter until golden and soft (about 15 minutes, don't rush this bit!). Add the Marsala and thyme leaves and stir though until absorbed

Step 3: Using the tart tin you intend to bake with, place upside down on the pastry and cut out circles for the tart base. Leave to one side for now.

Step 4: Add the onions to your greased chosen tart tins (I used individual but you can use a large tin if you want to serve in slices).

Step 5: Cover with your pastry circle and gently tuck down the side of the dish

Step 6: Bake for 20 minutes (small tart) 25 minutes (large tart), until pastry is golden brown.

Step 7: Run a knife round the edge and, using a serving plate over the top, flip out to serve

Step 8: Serve warm with salad or vegetables

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x